Carcassonne

One of the most beautiful walled cities in the world we want to introduce to you is Carcassonne. It is located in southern France, approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Toulouse. Since the Neolithic era, its strategic location between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea has been known. The town has an area of roughly 65 km2 (25 sq mi), which is much greater than the department of Aude's numerous minor towns. The Aude, Fresquel, and Canal du Midi rivers all run through town.

Carcassonne has been inhabited since the Neolithic and is located in the Aude plain between old trade routes from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. The Romans rapidly understood its strategic value and occupied its hilltop until the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It was taken over by the Visigoths, who constructed the city, in the fifth century. Within three centuries, it briefly came under Islamic dominion. Because of its strategic location, successive kings expanded their defenses until the Treaty of Pyrenees in 1659.

The Cité de Carcassonne is a medieval stronghold dating back to the Gallo-Roman period that was renovated in 1853 by thinker and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Because of the outstanding preservation and restoration of the medieval citadel, it was inscribed to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. As a result, Carcassonne relies significantly on tourism, although it also has manufacturing and winemaking as key economic sectors.

Location: Occitania, France